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Modernization and Westernization of Japan

Japan had many reasons to give in to western ways. After being cut off from the world for so long, Japan was horribly behind economically, socially, militarily, etc. Japan had to show itself to the world in order to catch up.

This time period was called the meiji restoration. It was when Japan became modern.

Japan also knew China was once under the same circumstances. Instead of opening itself, it fought western ways. The futuristic west would inevitably win. China, by fighting back, lost all its power to the west. They were mistreated and taken advantage of. By working with the west and not against, Japan made many valuable relationships.

The event that opened Japan to the world was when Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1853 brought an army fleet to Japan. Japan, being closed off to the world for so long never saw these battleships before, or anything close to them. They were completely in aw and immediately felt no choice but to westernize. There was no fighting these god-like machines.

“The Last Samurai” depicts the Japanese during the year of 1876 as completely shocked and ignorant of western weapons.

This is not accurate. At this time, the war was already going on for 20 years and the samurai had ample time to become very familiar with western weapons, even if they chose not to use them. Japan already had a widely modernized army at this time.

The samurai may have been fighting the samurai’s army, but they thought they were doing it in the service of the emperor. Previously in Japan’s history, the samurai had a deep alliance and worked with the emperor to take down the shogun, Japans military leader. Because of this, they still felt they were under the emperor’s service.

Also, many samurai believed in fighting the emperor’s westernized army, they were fighting off the evil the west brought with them from getting to the emperor.

In the end, Japan’s ability to modernized, westernize, and adapt saved it from being carved up like China was. It gave the west and Japan room for compromise. It can be concluded that Japan’s ability to adapt saved it and made it the high ranking power it is to this day.